NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS

Nature-based solutions are actions to protect, sustainably manage, or restore natural ecosystems, that address societal challenges such as climate change, human health, food and water security, and disaster risk reduction effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. (source: World Bank) 

 

More specifically, Natural Climate Solutions are conservation, restoration and improved land management actions that increase carbon storage or avoid greenhouse gas emissions in forests, grasslands, and wetlands across the globe. ⁠(source: The Nature Conservancy)

 

Climate change  poses an existential threat to humanity, but luckily, one of the greatest solutions to this threat is right in front of us. 

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Research  shows that if managed properly, forests, grasslands, and wetlands have the potential to provide over a third of the emission reductions needed by 2030 to keep global temperature increases under 2°C. Even with all the threats forests face today, they still  absorb a net 7.6 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide      per year, which is 1.5 times more carbon than the United States emits annually.

 

How exactly do plants pull off this amazing feat? Through a process called  photosynthesis, trees and other plants capture carbon molecules out of the air to feed themselves. The carbon molecules they capture for energy are the very carbon molecules contributing to the   greenhouse warming effect. The carbon which plants capture is then stored in their bodies and underground in the soil.

 

Nature is an extremely powerful and intelligent force, and if given the chance, has the ability to significantly contribute to the fight against climate change.